Donald Trump tweeted threats against the nation of Panama over the weekend, suggesting in posts on Truth Social that he would seize control of the Panama Canal if his demands weren’t met. The president-elect even included an AI-generated image of an American flag in the middle of the Canal, making it the second time Trump has threatened an ally nation with AI images after he made a similar threat against Canada.
“Welcome to the United States Canal!” Trump wrote on Sunday, in a message that appeared across several social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook.
The posts included an image that, at first glance, isn’t obviously AI-generated. But the bottom right corner includes the word Grok, the generative AI tool created by X that’s both a chatbot and allows people to create images with text prompts. The Grok watermark was cropped out on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
It’s not immediately clear where Trump or his social media team found the image, but the president-elect has been known to spread sensationalistic images found on Twitter, especially when they’re hateful and racist. Trump posted AI images of cats and dogs in September when he helped spread the lie that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating domestic animals.
Trump first suggested he would try to take ownership of the Panama Canal a day earlier in a message spread cross two Truth Social posts Saturday.
“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security,” Trump wrote. “A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports.”
The posts then went on to rationalize why the U.S. should have control over the Panama Canal, just as it did when it was created in the early 20th-century. France started the project in the 1880s, but gave up until the U.S. took over in 1904 and completed building the canal a decade later. President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty in the 1970s to give control of the Canal back to Panama but Trump would like to undo that.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S.,” Trump wrote. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop.”
Trump then went on to say that unless concessions are made, the U.S. will “demand” control of the Canal, essentially a threat of war with a foreign ally.
“The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!” Trump wrote.
“It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!” Trump continued.
The president of Panama obviously took Trump’s threats seriously, defending his country’s territorial integrity in a video posted to X.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zones is part of Panama, and it will continue to be,” President José Raúl Mulino said Sunday, according to an English language translation by Bloomberg.
🇵🇦 Mensaje del Presidente José Raúl Mulino 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/DMXU8qAuNT
— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 22, 2024
Trump responded to Mulino with more unhinged nonsense at an event called AmericaFest, organized by the far-right political organizations Turning Point USA.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said. “Because we’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else.”
Trump echoed the statements he’d already said on social media during his live speech.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question,” Trump said, according to the CBC.
After the speech, Trump wrote on Truth Social “we’ll see about that” in response to President Mulino’s message, making it clear he’s going to be as antagonistic as possible.
This isn’t even the first time Trump has used AI-generated images to threaten a foreign country with invasion. The billionaire dipshit previously posted an AI-image of himself standing on a mountain with an American flag and Europe’s Matterhorn in the distance. It appears the image was supposed to symbolize Trump conquering Canada, though the image clearly represented natural formations in Europe.
Trump also included a threat against Greenland on Sunday in an announcement that he was making Ken Howery the ambassador to Denmark.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote. “Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the United States.”
Some commentators insist that Trump’s threats against foreign countries are just trolling or a “joke,” but they seem to be in complete denial about what the country actually faces in the coming months and years. We’ll find out soon enough whether Trump tries to make any moves against allied countries. It’s an entirely new world. And nobody knows what lies ahead with any certainty.